Friday Bookish Post - 6 May 2016

    

Thanks to Freda from "Freda's Voice" and Gilion at "Rose City Reader" for hosting these bookish link-up!  Click one of the buttons to go to the link-up page.

This captivating, breakout novel—told in alternating viewpoints—brings readers from the skies of World War II to the present day, where a woman is prepared to tell her secrets at last.

Estranged from her family since just after World War II, Mary Browning has spent her entire adult life hiding from her past. Now eighty-seven years old and a widow, she is still haunted by secrets and fading memories of the family she left behind. Her one outlet is the writing group she’s presided over for a decade, though she’s never written a word herself. When a new member walks in—a fifteen-year-old girl who reminds her so much of her beloved sister Sarah—Mary is certain fate delivered Elyse Strickler to her for a reason.

Mary hires the serious-eyed teenager to type her story about a daring female pilot who, during World War II, left home for the sky and gambled everything for her dreams—including her own identity.

As they begin to unravel the web of Mary’s past, Mary and Elyse form an unlikely friendship. Together they discover it’s never too late for second chances and that sometimes forgiveness is all it takes for life to take flight in the most unexpected ways.


BOOK BEGINNINGS

"It was my eighty-seventh birthday when my sister Sarah walked into the meeting room of the Carnegie Library.  Somehow she was still a young girl of about fifteen, with pale blond hair in a single braid down her back, just as she'd been when she scrambled up the climbing tree in the backyard and tossed apples to me on the ground down below.  Of course, I knew it couldn't actually be my sister.  Perhaps the Sarah-sighting was yet another side effect of again.  After all, the older I've become, the more everyone I come across reminds me of someone I once loved.  I had no inkling that the girl with the braid might change everything."

FRIDAY 56

"Who's the blond cartoon character?" I asked, pointing to the patch sewn onto the shoulder - of a little gremlin girl with the blue wings and big, red boots.

"Fifinella, the patron saint of the fly girls.  And she's not blond, my dear; that's her golden helmet.  Go ahead, try it on," she added, holding out the jacket.

I hesitated for just a second and then allowed her to slip it over my shoulders.  I pushed my arms into the sleeves.  The jacket fit perfectly."

~~~oOo~~~

 

Thanks to Billy B at the "Coffee Addicted Writer" and Ramona at "Create With Joy" for hosting these link-ups!  Click on the buttons above to go to their blogs.

BOOK BLOGGER HOP

Thanks to Elizabeth at Silver's Reviews for this question of the week:

Why did you start your blog?

Shortly after my daughter was born in 2003, I found a site online called "Maya's Mom".  It was a hang-out for moms of all ages, with kids of all ages.  It was a special place, and I made a lot of internet friends.  A couple of years down the road, Maya's Mom was sold to "BabyCenter".  Aside from the change in focus away from including older children, the place did not have the same spirit.  So, the time I had put into schmoozing there had to go somewhere.  So I started a blog.  At first it was a mommy blog.  Now I mostly review/promote books.

~~~oOo~~~

Also sharing with:

   

Thanks to Ramona at Create With Joy and Janice at Mostly Blogging for these fun link-ups!  Click on the button to visit the sites to join in!  The more the merrier...really! :O)

Friday Bookish Post - March 25, 2016

    

Thanks to Freda from "Freda's Voice" and Gilion at "Rose City Reader" for hosting these bookish link-up!  Click one of the buttons to go to the link-up page.

SYNOPSIS

When Hayden Kent’s mentor and friend discovers her son Mike’s dead body, dressed in full scuba attire, washed up on Pigeon Key, she needs Hayden. Her paralegal and dive skills may help unravel the tragedy of Mike’s last days. He’d recently discovered a sunken Spanish galleon and rumors that he hit the mother lode ran through the Keys like wildfire.

Hayden’s dive on the treasure site uncovers gold, and clues that Mike’s death was something far more sinister than an accident. When two different wills, both signed the day Mike died, are delivered to the courthouse, the suspect list grows, as do the threats against her. The danger escalates as she tries to save herself, discover the motive, and find the killer.

BOOK BEGINNINGS

This is the book's second paragraph:

"Of all the mornings to be late.  I scooted past her into my office, dumped my burdens on one of the guest chairs, rounded my desk, and punched the button to activate my computer.  Our email program recorded all voicemails.  The computer was going through its usual beeps and boops when my boss and supervising attorney, Grant Huffman, pushed open my door, a pink message slip clutched in his hand.  He had his jacket off and the sleeves of his shirt cuffed back to just below the elbow.  I knew instantly something was wrong.  The light banter of questions about his weekend died on my lips."

FRIDAY 56

"Judge, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I have a few questions about a restraining order against my paralegal, Hayden Kent. .... Judge Rodriguez entered the order ex parte because Lisa said she felt threatened that you went to her house and her child was present."

NOTE:  I will review this book on the blog on Monday and you are all invited back!

~~~oOo~~~

   

Thanks to Billy B at the "Coffee Addicted Writer" and Ramona at "Create With Joy" for hosting these link-ups!  Click on the buttons above to go to their blogs.


This week's question submitted by Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews:

How much of your day is devoted to your blog, and how much is devoted to reading? 

My Answer:

I am something of an introvert, so the solitary act of reading better suits my temperament than does blogging.  Part of me gets a little nervous when I think that there may be (hopefully) some (many?) reading what I write, and the "is it good enough" voice tries to speak up.  So it brings up a little anxiety for me actually, to hit the 'publish' button.

But I have tried, somewhat successfully, to try not to let anxiety or fear dictate my actions.  The greatest successes of my life have come when I was afraid or anxious, but did the event anyway.

So, that's my long-winded way of saying I spend more time reading than blogging ... maybe 2:1 reading:blogging, maybe a higher ratio.

~~~oOo~~~

Great News!

Extra special thanks to Ramona of "Create With Joy" for making me 'Friend of the Week' on her Friendship Friday Link-up!  I first started doing link-ups for the three that she hosts on her blog each week:  "Inspire Me Monday" (last Monday had 318 links), "Wordless Wednesday" (last Wednesday had 76 links) and "Friendship Friday" (221 links last week).  She works tirelessly on behalf of her blogging friends and I respect her enormously.

Friday Bookish Post - March 11, 2016

    

Thanks to Freda from "Freda's Voice" and Gilion at "Rose City Reader" for hosting these bookish link-up!  Click one of the buttons to go to the link-up page.

SYNOPSIS

English professor Lila Maclean is thrilled about her new job at prestigious Stonedale University, until she finds one of her colleagues dead. She soon learns that everyone, from the chancellor to the detective working the case, believes Lila—or someone she is protecting—may be responsible for the horrific event, so she assigns herself the task of identifying the killer.

More attacks on professors follow, the only connection a curious symbol at each of the crime scenes. Putting her scholarly skills to the test, Lila gathers evidence, but her search is complicated by an unexpected nemesis, a suspicious investigator, and an ominous secret society. Rather than earning an “A” for effort, she receives a threat featuring the mysterious emblem and must act quickly to avoid failing her assignment…and becoming the next victim.

BOOK BEGINNINGS

When summoned by the department chair, one shows up on time.  I hurried past the row of faculty mailboxes with minutes to spare and greeted Millicent Quayle, a squarish middle-aged woman whose dull brown hair perfectly matched her suit.  As executive assistant, Millicent presided over the front desk that guarded our leader's inner sanctum.  She was practically humming with efficiency as her fingers flew over the keyboard, and I stood quietly until she mustered up the will to drag her attention away from the computer screen.

FRIDAY 56

I picked up my bag, turned off the bulb and pulled the door shut behind me, noticing that there was light spilling into the hallway through the half-open door to the next room.

That light had not been on before.

Was someone else down here?

~~~oOo~~~

   

Thanks to Billy B at the "Coffee Addicted Writer" and Ramona at "Create With Joy" for hosting these link-ups!  Click on the buttons above to go to their blogs.

This week's BBH question from Vicki Lee @VLZBooks.com:

Do you believe audio books are the future and why do believe? 

If we're talking audio will dominate the book world and make print and e-books obsolete, no I do not believe that.  Many people predicted that ebooks would be the death of print, but that hasn't turned out to be true either.  Each media in which a book appears (print, ebook, audio, video, etc.) brings something unique to the table.

Sometimes there's just nothing like holding a physical book (aka 'bookbooks') with a glass of my favorite cold beverage (or cup of my favorite hot beverage), putting up my feet and getting lost in the pages.

I love my ereader because it allows me to store a ton of books.  Seriously, if I had to have physical copies of each book in the house, they could probably be stacked from floor to ceiling and cover every inch of available wall space in one of our rooms.

Video books  (movies, etc.) have the added benefit of a visual as well as an audio component.  Sound and visual effects can be powerful conveyors of a book's message.

Friday Bookish Post - March 4, 2016

    

Thanks to Freda from "Freda's Voice" and Gilion at "Rose City Reader" for hosting these bookish link-up!  Click one of the buttons to go to the link-up page.

SYNOPSIS

Texas transplant Pru Parke has put down roots in England, but she never dreamed she’d live in a grand place such as Greenoak. When her former employers offer Pru and her new husband, former Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse, the use of their nineteenth-century estate while they’re away for a year, she jumps at the chance. Sweetening the deal is the prospect of further bonding with her long-lost brother, Simon, who happens to be Greenoak’s head gardener. But the majestic manor has at least one skeleton in its closet—or, rather, its garden.

Working on renovations to the extensive grounds, siblings Pru and Simon squabble about everything from boxwood to bay hedges. But when the removal of a half-dead tree turns up the wreckage of a World War II–era German fighter plane and a pile of bones, the arguments stop. That is, until a rival from Simon’s past pays a surprise visit and creates even more upheaval. It’s suddenly clear someone is unhappy their secrets have been unearthed. Still, Pru’s not about to sit back and let Simon take the fall for the dirty deed without a fight.

~~~oOo~~~

Book Beginnings

The large terra-cotta pot, weathered from the seasons, sported an inch-wide crack that strained at the wire wrapped around its circumference.  Roots of the bay tree, seeking to break free from their encircling confinement, had insinuated themselves through the crack, found open air, and dried up.  The small tree itself seemed to slump, as if resigned to a second-class existence.  Pru and her brother, Simon, stood gazing at it in silence.

~~~oOo~~~

Friday 56

The figure lunged and shoved her away.  She fell back and landed on her bottom in the gravel, shouting in alarm.  As the person ran past her toward the opening, she managed to grab his ankle, and she struggled to stand and keep hold.  The figure kicked loose from her grasp, and the force sent her staggering.  She caught her foot on a guy rope from the marquee, danced a few steps, and went down hard on her stomach.

~~oOo~~~

   

Thanks to Billy B at the "Coffee Addicted Writer" and Ramona at "Create With Joy" for hosting these link-ups!  Click on the buttons above to go to their blogs.

This week's question for the Book Blogger Hop is:

Do you tend to read more in the winter or in the summer months? 

The amount of reading I do does not really change, but the location might.  In winter, I read almost exclusively indoors.  During the summer, I love to sit on the side porch for hours and read. ;)